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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28556739">The Battle of Fallen Stars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sonnybcm/pseuds/Sefton'>Sefton (Sonnybcm)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Draitron - Freeform, Martial Arts, Tenyi, Yu-Gi-Oh - Freeform, yugioh - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:41:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,430</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28556739</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sonnybcm/pseuds/Sefton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Tenyi style is practiced by those that can train their bodies and minds to channel the dragon spirits of the land into their bodies to borrow their power - and to this end, they have build ancient monasteries spread throughout the land, near where the energy of the dragons is stronger. Atop the tallest mountain in the land, beneath the starry skies and above the clouds, they train. And yet, the world is filled with wondrous and dangerous creatures that care not for the whims of men and women that stand beneath them. This is the story of a meteor shower, and of three martial artists that stood against impossible odds.</p><p>It started with a meteor shower.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Battle of Fallen Stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The training grounds built by the Tenyi students were scattered throughout the land, each location carefully chosen to give the martial artists proper contact with the dragon veins, and the overflowing chi that raged throughout them. And although all of them were important, the one favored by the new generation was the one atop the highest mountain in the land, the Celestial Shrine. The one closest to the heavens, amidst the highest clouds and the overflowing Chi of Ashuna, was also the stage to observe the most incredible of celestial events.</p><p>That night, it was a meteor shower.</p><p>The night sky lit up as the streaks of light crossed the dark, dazzling the martial artists below. Three lone figures, shaking off the soreness from a hard day’s training as they sat down to observe the shooting stars, their light reflecting on the polished stone surfaces and the scant few golden symbols adorning the pillars and the doors of the celestial shrine. Berserker’s usually hardened expression softened into a look of contemplation as he counted the numerous shooting stars, while Shaman leaned back with a content smile. Monk had chosen to simply lay down entirely, with his hands crossed behind his head as he took in the meteor shower.</p><p>“You ever wonder what makes the stars fly like that?” Monk asked after a long silence. “What is there up in the sky?”</p><p>“That’s the realm of the gods, isn’t it? Perhaps the stars are falling because of them,” Shaman guessed wistfully. “Maybe they’re being replaced. New stars are made and the old ones are sent off into the distance to make way to the new ones…”</p><p>“They’re scales,” berserker’s gruff voice cut in. “I believe you are correct, but not in the way you think. The gods up there are dragons, and phoenixes, and gryphons, and serpents. You can see them from here...Look,” Berserker lifted one enormous hand and pointed towards the westmost portion of the sky, where the constellation of the firebird gleamed. Then he traced north, towards the thunderbird, and brought his hand to point directly above the celestial shrine, where the dragon constellation shone bright. “They are like us...They fight, they rest, they battle once again. And they grow. When they are injured or when the time is right, they shed their feathers, their teeth, and their scales...And they fall to the earth like so.”</p><p>“Dragon gods, huh?” Monk repeated wistfully, glancing at the dragon constellation. True enough to his master’s theory, in that area of the sky, the shooting stars seemed to be many more numerous, streaking off towards the horizon in every direction. “I would like to see if the heavens above have dragon veins. Ashuna is the chi of the skies, but… Perhaps there is a Tenyi spirit up there as well, made of the chi from the stars.”</p><p>“How poetic, monk. I didn’t take someone like you for a dreamer,” teased Shaman, receiving only a tongue click from the monk in response. The stars above were shining even brighter. “Perhaps we will find one day. I heard that sometimes, fallen stars are found on the earth. Maybe if we could collect some…Some….”</p><p>Shaman’s words died in a tone of confusion. As she spoke the stars shone brighter and brighter, and seemed to be getting larger. The Tenyi shielded their eyes from the increasing light, until the harsh whistle of something descending from the heavens at high speed reached their ears. Their instincts kicked in immediately; in just a moment all three had gotten back to their feet, just as impact was made deeper in the temple. The impact was enormous and shook the mountain as the sound of stone being pulverized pierced through the night.</p><p>They ran towards the very center of the celestial shrine, the arena where they meditated and sparred, where the object had punched straight through the solid stone floor and embedded itself in a deep crack, letting out sweltering steam. It was perfectly spherical, but it didn’t seem solid - a crackling orb of blue-energy, containing what seemed to be a spiraling tornado of countless stars. Berserker was the first one to approach and dare to try and touch it - it singed against his hands, but he had long since hardened his body against mere heat.</p><p>“...A fallen star, then? What could this mean?” Berserker asked, examining the glowing orb. It felt solid against his palm, although he wasn’t able to determine any actual borders on it - it almost faded into light after a certain point, and it hurt his eyes to examine it too closely. Just holding on to it for too long made his arm tingle. “I feel such power coming from it…”</p><p>“Do you hear that?” Shaman said suddenly, with her eyes widening. All three stopped, attempting to listen, and it was Shaman that got it first. Her head snapped straight upwards, towards the increasingly bright constellation. “Something else is coming!”</p><p>The stars above lit up so fiercely that night turned to day. The sounds came back, of many, many objects quickly descending from the heavens like meteors, but there was another sound being brought by the wind that hardened the expression of the martial artists - roars.</p><p>When the blinding light finally faded, the sky was no longer empty.</p><p>“What in the world…”</p><p>A massive figure soared in the sky above the mountain top, an imposing behemoth of silver body and blue light. The shape was that of a fierce dragon clad in star metal, and in its chest, an enormous revolving orb exuding green flames. Above and surrounding it were its kin - an assortment of grandiose metallic behemoths, gleaming with starlight, all taking the forms of dragons clad in pure silver and imposing blue power. They flew around the mountain, illuminating the night and shaking the heavens with their power, circling the Tenyi temple as if it were prey.</p><p>“What are those things?! What do they want? They can’t be the gods?” Monk asked, planting his feet and putting his arms up into a defensive stance, while Shaman put her back against his and took her own stance. </p><p>“Listen to them! Listen beyond the roaring of their mouths! Their wings roar with fire and their bodies sound like metal when they move. They are machines!” Shaman snapped. “Keep your wits about you!”</p><p>“They are challengers!” Berserker proclaimed, his voice echoing through the night sky, a roar to match the Draitron constellation. He clutched the fallen star into his enormous hand. “The stars themselves are given form to face us! Have you come from the heavens to test your might against ours, machines?! I accept your challenge! I will send you back where you came from, and you may tell the heavens above that our power is true!”</p><p>In response, the draitrons roared, their mechanical forms lighting up in an overflow of blue power. The first and largest of them, Fafnir, looked down at the monks and locked on. Its great wings opened at the front to reveal empty barrel, where blue energy crackled and built up. Six streams of bright blue energy were fired from the Draitron, coalescing into a spiral of destruction towards the Celestial Shrine, and the Tenyi martial artists.</p><p>The beam struck with a deafening, distorted sound. To the sensors of the Draitrons, a direct hit such as that should have been enough to vaporize all of them, alongside a large part of the mountain. And yet, the terrain itself seemed to be entirely undamaged. Bright blue gave away to fiery orange at the point of impact, and as the Draitrons registered a sudden surge of mysterious power, a gout of spectral flame erupted from the mountain, pushing back against the energy beam. It took the form of a dragon with a long body and flaming whiskers, its mouth wide open to devour the energy of the attacking machine. It surged upwards, absorbing the blue energy into itself and redirecting it away from its original target and back towards the source, until Fafnir’s thrusters kicked in to push it out of the line of fire as the Mapura Tenyi spirit kept rising, spiraling higher and higher into the air before vanishing. </p><p>On the ground, Shaman’s outstretched leg was still burning with the channeled power of Mapura. She lowered it, breathing heavily, but unharmed just as her comrades were. </p><p>“That could have destroyed the entire temple,” Shaman said coldly, wiping sweat off her forehead.</p><p>“That won’t do at all,” Monk said, cracking his neck and his knuckles. “This is a precious place.”</p><p>“The battlegrounds are to be respected. The true use of power is to be able to unleash it fully, and harm only your opponent. Destroy only what you truly aim for,” Berserker clutched the orb of power in his hand tightly. He could feel the energy from within it, and he did not want the distraction. He let it fall to the earth where it cracked the stone, and when he did, the Draitrons roared. “Drive them back.”</p><p>All three of the Tenyi masters moved at once, leaping towards whatever platform they could find to bring the battle to their skyborne opponents. The Draitrons’s thrusters lit up and they fell towards the mountaintop like comets; first aiming to beeline towards Berserker but their sensors accused danger coming from the other two. They changed the charge pattern, splitting into three attack formations with their aim sensors locking on their targets. </p><p>Monk was the first one to reach his foes; the agile fighter leapt to the top of the pillars surrounding the arena, up the wall, and brought himself up to a large natural boulder that was sticking out of the mountaintop itself. Two Draitrons flew towards him, towering over him with their size. Off the corner of his eye he saw the symbols for “Alpha” and “Beta” gleaming with power on each of their wings. They fired first, showering the martial artist with blasts of blue energy. Monk channeled the power of Adhara into his body, grounding himself to the earth, and chose to meet the energy blasts head on, blow for blow. The Earth spirit was mostly used as a basis to connect with previously used spirits, but all chi was empowering. Every time a laser approached him, he would strike at it with his palm, his foot, his elbow and his knuckles, sending them flying off into the sky lest they made it past him and utterly annihilated the ancient shrine. But he couldn’t stop them all; he could hear the stray shot making it past him and tearing through the shrine, and each one was a new pit in his stomach. The celestial shrine was ancient, and also the place that he and the others were meant to guard. With only three tenyi practitioners left, if they couldn’t protect it, it would simply be destroyed and forgotten.</p><p>“...Damn it, they’re stronger than me!” Monk thought in frustration - although he could deflect the blows with the help of Adhara, his hands and body were soon bleeding from the repeated impact and redirection effort. Any direct blow would be fatal. “I need an opening…”</p><p>Monk stomped his foot firmly and held his breath and he saw Beta extend its arm, in the form of a long cannon, and wind up a particularly large blast while Alpha kept laying on the support fire. When the searing ball of energy came towards him it was so big that it absorbed the other oncoming bullets. Instead of attempting to deflect it somewhere far away, Monk extended both hands with the palms outstretched, focusing all his efforts into coating his arms with the earth Chi of Adhara so that he could survive his own plan, and caught it. The lasers were too hot for him to come out unscathed, and he felt his hands singe and burn instantly - but they weren’t completely vaporized. He spun on his own heel before flinging the energy right back at Beta. The Draitron flew over it, narrowly avoiding the counter attack, but Monk was already on the move. As the Draitron’s sensors located the fighter, it was too late - Monk had taken advantage of the opening and flung himself in the air, soaring above and towards Beta. Instead of the beige tone of the Adhara spirit, it was now a deep green chi that coated his body, in particular his leg as he wound it up, spinning midair to build up as much power as he could.</p><p>The Draitron’s sensors accused the kick of being utterly unable to cause any form of damage to its own armored form - the fighter was simply too weak to do it unassisted. And yet, when the shin of Monk made contact, a surging green energy erupted from the point of impact, amplifying and repeating the shockwave more and more against the armor of the celestial dragon. The energy of Nahata seeped into the metal like roots seep into the earth, and cracked it much the same, until finally the blow punched right through the draitron’s wing, sending the mechanical machine spiraling down towards the earth. Something on the dragon’s body gleamed under the broken armor caught Monk’s eye</p><p>“Wait, is that…?”</p><p>The distraction was long enough for an opening. Monk felt the heat and instantly tried to protect himself, but it was too late - Alpha’s shot was true. Monk’s burning self was blown away and started to fall back to the earth, towards where Shaman was dealing with her own combat.</p><p>Her challengers were Delta and Gamma, a swift horse-dragon-like machine and one with a heavy and seemingly endless supply of artillery upon its back. The missiles, individually, were dangerous but easily avoided. But in such quantity, and having to avoid the shrapnel and attempt to send them back instead of simply letting them fall upon the earth and destroy the temple with their explosions, it was a daunting task. She never stopped moving, weaving and running, jumping and striking, switching directions as much as she could while trying to find a way to properly approach the draitrons as Gamma rained fury upon her. There was only so much she could do to redirect the artillery, and the barrage cracked the ancient stone tiles and showered her with shrapnel when she couldn’t, making a sinking feeling of sadness build up upon her being. She had helped build the shrine many years ago with her own two hands, and it was there that she ascended to her current rank. Each atomized plate was a blow to precious memories. Shaman’s great war fan came very much in handy during the fight; unlike her smaller fan, this one was made of metal that was durable and hard enough to withstand most blows. With it closed, she could use it as a shortsword to slice down missiles before they could reach her and to counterbalance her body when she did a particularly risky jump.</p><p>After what seemed like an eternity, Gamma had to stop the rain of missiles to recharge; Shaman breathed in, allowing herself to find better footing to face her opponent’s. Delta had been circling the field at high speeds until now, and now that the brute-force attempt at destroying Shaman with artillery had not worked, it had decided to move in to attack and stop Shaman from striking back. Moving as a lightning bolt, Delta zapped throughout the sky and maneuvered close to the earth to simply run over Shaman, coming back for repeated attempts. Shaman weaved and jumped out of the way, just barely avoiding the increasingly swift machine, delivery kicks, punches and elbow strikes whenever she could find an opening and receiving only bleeding knuckles as results.</p><p>“Sturdy plating, isn’t it? Very well then,” Shaman mulled over as she dodged again. Her thoughts were racing as she attempted to examine her enemies “Are they defending one another…? They launched an attack so suddenly, but are so careful to fight in unison and not harm one another. Is this the behaviour of simple machines?”  </p><p>Gamma seemingly was almost done recharging - she had to do something soon. Delta wound up for one final come around, and Shaman planted her feet in a wide stance. The Draitron sensors read her body language and deemed it a foolish choice. It was not a stance of evasion, but a sturdy stance to withstand impact. Her body would break upon its charge. On the ground, Shaman opened up her great war fan and her regular war fan, holding one in each arm and circling them about herself. Green and Red chi surged around her body, and the two spirits of Mapura and Nahata snaked around Shaman’s body, each one moving towards a different fan. Delta charged, and as Shaman finished her channeling, she brought both fans together to the side of her body and swung them with all her might to the side. The faint breeze that should have been created was instead a gale, a surging burning wind that threw Delta’s flying charge out of course, sending the Draitron back towards the sky, forcing his body to face Gamma. Although Delta’s thrusters kicked in, Mapura and Nahata were circling around his body like a tornado, forcing him to continue on his path until he crashed violently against Gamma. Shaman was hoping for some form of explosion, but instead the Draitrons were only knocked away, spiraling off into the sky with bits of metal flying off their bodies. Before Shaman’s eyes, both her opponents pushed against one another, flaring up their thrusters to help both to stabilize their flight.</p><p>“They’ll be back. And they’re really helping one another...They’re not just here for food or territory or...whatever it is that these machines want. Damn, what does it mean?” Shaman whispered. Off the corner of her eye she saw a laser strike its target - when she turned to look at it, she saw the horrifying visage of Monk’s singed body falling from the sky. The Draitrons would only be able to see the fallen body of an enemy, but Shaman could see the wisps of chi, monk’s own life force, slowly leaving him. “No…”</p><p>She ran and lept, catching Monk’s body before it could strike the ground. Shaman bit her lip - Monk’s back, where the laser had hit, was raw and covered in flash-dried blood. Lines of blood dripped from the corners of his mouth, and his breathing was too fast and ragged. He had managed to stop himself from being pierced completely but just about. Off in the sky, Alpha aimed another shot. Shaman looked up to the enemy and narrowed her eyes. Chi surged around the two, this time a very clear blue, unlike the intense light that the draitrons let out.</p><p>“Remember your training. Steady your breathing. Do you hear me, Monk? This is your teacher speaking, listen to me. We are all still together, so you cannot give up,” Shaman said calmly to the monk in her arms. He gurgled in response, opening his eyes ever so slightly. Shaman smiled at him, knowing that she had to let him know it was not over yet. “Yes. Good. Remember your breathing...And feel the chi that will help now. Let’s do it...Now.”</p><p>Alpha’s laser barrage zero’d in on the two seemingly downed fighters, but before the Draitron’s sensors could confirm the hit, a massive block of ice manifested itself around the duo. It grew higher and higher at blinding speed, forming a glacier. And from within it, a freezing spirit made of mist and snow erupted, roaring to the night sky. Shtana ascended and then fell back to the earth, opening its maw to swallow Alpha on the way back. It crashed back against the mountain, exploding in mist and cold air. When it vanished, Alpha was deeply encased in a glacier of clear ice. Off to the side, Shaman and Monk were panting and dizzy. Monk’s body was beaming with Shtana’s clear blue light and his back was better - but new wounds and singes peppered his body. Shaman’s body and robes were equally singed, while her ribbons and her smaller war-fan had been completely vaporized, and a large gash on her forehead leaked blood.</p><p>“Gods, finally, we took one down for good...Shtana brought me back, but couldn’t help with the follow up attack…” Monk said, gasping for air. “Thanks…”</p><p>“Too early for gratitude. I couldn’t put mine down for good, they’ll be back.” Shaman stood up, wiping the blood off her forehead. “Monk, they’re not acting mindless. They’re assisting one another in more than just a pack way…”</p><p>“I know, I think the shot that almost killed me was payback...Listen, I saw something come flying out from one of them when I knocked it out of the sky. It was an orb, just like the fallen star we saw. I don’t know what it is yet, but I think we have it wrong...But also, I think these things aren’t used to not doing things the easy way. They’ll destroy this whole mountain if we don’t do something. Where’s Master…?”</p><p>Almost as if to answer the question, the sound of crunching metal and heavy smashing came from above. Shaman and Monk snapped their heads upwards just in time to see the moonlit frame of Berserker crashing down from the sky, his hand firmly embedded into the metallic body of a Draitron. With a mighty scream he landed, bringing down his fist and violently smashing the mechanical drake into the earth. Bits of metal and blue energy flew out of it as the mechanical dragon attempted to bite.</p><p>“...Hmnf. Still alive? I respect your tenacity.” Berserker lifted the Draitron towards the sky. On its body the symbol for “Zeta” gleamed. After taking aim, Berserker violently flung his opponent towards the largest machine, Fafnir. Much to the surprise of the fighters, instead of simply dodging or being hit, Fafnir opened its mouth and a spiral beam projected itself towards the ragdolled Zeta. It stopped the trajectory of the Draitron mid air, and gently floated it onto Fafnir’s back.</p><p>“You have found that I am not as soft as my students!” Berserker bellowed towards the humongous Draitron, raising one massive fist in challenge. “And were they to fight together, they could strike you down from the skies. The power and armor of your stars is no match for me! I see that you beasts respect and cherish one another! If you wish to keep testing your might against us, send down something that can stand up to me or there will be no point to this battle!”</p><p>“Master, listen to me!” Monk asked in a hurry. “This battle might be senseless! I’m not sure they can understand us, but I believe we can understand them! Have you seen something fly out of their bodies when they were destroyed?”</p><p>“Orbs of light. Some form of energy source. What of it?”</p><p>“What if they’re more than that?” Shaman cut in as well. “Monk thinks….”</p><p>Before Shaman could finish her thought, Fafnir raised its head and let out a piercing roar. All three fighters were forced to protect their ears as the very mountaintop shook under it. From around the grounds, the remaining Draitrons flew up towards the sky again and coalesced, descending upon Fafir. Their bodies broke apart, and from each and every single one of them, a gleaming orb of light shot out. The ice of Shtana shattered when Alpha’s internal light also shot towards Fafnir.</p><p>The motes of light were all absorbed, and the mechanical parts of each Draitron flew through the air and docked onto Fafnir. The form of the mechanical Dragon started to change, and silver became bright gold as blue energy supercharged Fafnir’s very being; a gleaming blade erupted from either arm as extra appendages attached themselves to the back of the ever-growing mechanical behemoth. As more and more energy surged, heat started to exude from the body of the newly formed Draitron as it towered over the fighters and the very temple. Draitron Meteornis DRA looked down at the puny opponents below it and roared.</p><p>“...Yes. Yes, that will do QUITE NICELY!” Berserker had a terribly large grin on his face at his new opponent. “A worthy form!”</p><p>“Master, are you insane!? We cannot fight that here!” Shaman said, horrified at the humongous enemy. “It can tear down the entire mountain with brute force! The shrine will be lost even if we can bring it down!”</p><p>“It will not destroy the shrine as long as it’s focused on me and me alone, and as long as I don’t give it an easy target!” Berserker’s body started to overflow with a purple-fog. His muscles bulged and grew as his already massive frame almost doubled in size as he channeled the dark spirit of Vishuda into himself. “You have a plan? Put it in practice, then. Move fast, my students. Regardless of what it is, this enemy is far above your powers, and it would destroy you before you had the chance to put your plan in motion. So leave this battle to me and do what you must.”</p><p>“You’ll die!”</p><p>“I’ll live to the fullest. Now go. As for you…” As the Draitron Meteornis raised its blade, Berserker stomped on the ground and opened his arms to meet the challenger. “COME ON!”</p><p>“Let’s go!” Shaman pulled at Monk’s arm, running off back towards the center of the shrine as Berserker leapt into the air to do battle. “Tell me on the way, what is your plan?!”</p><p>“Each and every single one of them has a star inside their bodies! They’re machines, but they’re not mindless and care for one another! They act and look like dragons and beasts, but they didn’t come here for food or territory! If I’m right and this isn’t just a random rampage, then…”</p><p>“...Then they came because of one another, and are trying to kill us to defend a defenseless member,” Shaman completed the thought as they delivered equal blows to clear off rubble in their way. “The fallen star is one of them!”</p><p>The center of the shrine was destroyed. Although they each had tried to move far away in their battles, the battle had found its way there. But the unmistakable glow of the star on the ground made it easy to find; Monk quickly scooped it up, ignoring the searing heat and energy that it let out.</p><p>“We’ll just have to give it back to them. I hope,” Monk said.</p><p>“Will they take it and leave? They might be too savage and angry to stop fighting now,” Shaman asked.</p><p>On cue, with a rumble like thunder, Berserker’s body came flying from the skies and crashed violently on the ground. The stone of the mountain cracked in every direction under the sheer strength of the blow. Berserker’s body was bloodied and burned, with a horrifying injury gashed out on the side of his body. His left arm was twisted in a weird angle, and he groaned loudly as he pulled himself back up to his feet before pushing his shoulder back in place with a disgusting “pop”. Berserker met the eyes of his students and grinned through the pain.</p><p>“...If we don’t do something we are all dead anyway,” Shaman answered her own question.</p><p>“You should see what I did to the other guy,” Berserker said. As if on cue, two large metallic appendages, ripped off through brute strength, fell from the skies besides him. “It’s really tough, though...And it’s coming back for more. I tried to push it as far away as I could with Vishuda and jump on top of it to stay in the air, but it got me. What a brawler...I’m going back for another shot.”</p><p>“Wait! Let me try first,” Monk quickly cut off his Master’s path as he watched Berserker crouch down, readying himself for a long jump. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the body of the Draitron scouring the mountain for Berserker. “If this works, then this can end now.”</p><p>“And if it doesn’t?”</p><p>“...Then, I’m probably going to be eaten by that thing, because I’m going to be in a really bad position to flee after.”</p><p>Without waiting for an answer, Monk took a running start, leaping over rubble and what few standing walls were left and beelining it to the brilliant form of the Draitron. When Monk reached the very edge of the mountain, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He took one last jump, and when he did, golden mist spiraled around his body as he opened himself to the chi of the heavens. He felt light as a feather as he went higher and higher, the golden mist taking the form of the spirit Ashuna below his feet to sustain his ascent. When he opened his eyes, he was level with the Draitron, and he immediately felt lightheaded. The machine was absolutely massive, exacerbated by being up close. One eye of the massive creature had as much length as Monk’s own body. And it looked irate.</p><p>“Wait! Please, look! Here!” Monk lifted his arm, the fallen star clutched tightly in his grasp. Below him, Ashuna flew in a circular pattern, forming a chi-platform that could hold his weight for a few moments. But he could already feel himself slipping through it - Monk had to act fast. “I don’t know if you can understand me, but you have descended for this, haven’t you?! Take it! If this is a comrade of yours, it was not our intention to keep you from it after it was lost!”</p><p>The Draitron engine, even outside of combat, was almost deafening. The massive mecha’s expression didn’t change, but seemed to regard Monk with alien intelligence. The eyes of the mechanical dragon crackled with power - and Monk felt the fallen star pulse in his hand, tugging away towards the Draitron. Very carefully, Monk let it go, and it started gently floating towards the massive Mech. Meteornis opened its massive maw - more than big enough to swallow Monk whole, defenseless as he was in mid-air - and instead of a tongue and teeth, there were endless rows of panels and one large opening in the very back. The mote of light flew into it, and the Draitron closed its mouth.</p><p>Ashuna’s physical form vanished entirely, and Monk started to fall. Above him, the massive mech turned towards the sky, paying him no attention any longer, and started to shine bright, before shooting at breakneck speed back towards space. Monk saw it almost in slow motion as the light ascended higher and higher, and then it split into multiple lights, taking their place in the heavens as a constellation once again.</p><p>“...The constellation of the dragon…”</p><p>A strong wind broke Monk’s fall before he could hit the earth and break his body. Waiting for him were Berserker and Shaman, bloodied and tired but very much alive. They were looking to the stars as well.</p><p>“...What an insane universe we live in,” Shaman said, exhaustion seeping in on her voice. “Very, very well done, Monk. Your instincts are getting very sharp.”</p><p>“...I feel like we have crossed into a realm beyond our own for this night only. And it was as dangerous as it was marvelous,” Berserker said. He had been clutching his wound, and he took out his hand to look at the fresh blood. “Heh...What a night. I would very much like to face the dragon again, without the need to hold back for my home’s sake…”</p><p>“No more battles until we all have had some healing,” Monk pleaded, earning a gruff “hmpft” from Berserker. Shaman nodded in agreement.</p><p>“We rest, we rebuild, and then we start training again. We’ve got a lot to learn, still...And maybe they’ll be back, one day.” Shaman looked up to the stars. “...Ferocious and dangerous as they were, I can’t help but think I would like to see the stars from up close, again. We didn’t have to be enemies. It was a misunderstanding. But we should be ready.”</p><p>“We will. We live as close to the heavens as possible, here upon this mountain,” Berserker said, starting to move towards the inside of the shrine. “We live among the stars ourselves, and now they know we are here. Let’s hope that next time we can more easily match their power.”</p><p>Outside, a meteor shower started once again.</p>
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